What is the Kanji for "See" and "Look"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "See" and "Look", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "See" and "Look" is "視".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Mi".

Its onyomi reading is "Shi".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "礻" means "Cult" . And The kanji "見" means "See" and can be read as "Ken" and "Mi".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "視" mean in japanese?

"視" means "See" and "Look".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Sixth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N1 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

視線: "Gaze". The Japanese noun '視線 (しせん)' refers to a person's line of sight or the direction in which their eyes are focused. It can convey the idea of someone paying close attention or observing something intently. For example: Her gaze was fixed on the stage - (彼女の視線は舞台に集中していた). I felt their gaze upon me - (私はその視線を感じた)

視点: "Perspective". The Japanese noun '視点 (してん)' means 'perspective'. This word refers to the particular way in which something is considered or understood, the specific angle or point of view from which a situation or event is observed. It implies a specific focus or orientation when looking at or thinking about something. For example: From my perspective, the problem looks different - (私の視点からすれば、この問題は違って見える). The author presents the story from multiple perspectives - (作者は複数の視点から物語を描いている).

監視: "Supervision" or "Monitoring". The Japanese noun '監視 (かんし)' means 'supervision' or 'monitoring'. It refers to the act of closely observing or overseeing something or someone, often for the purpose of control, security, or safety. For example: The police are monitoring the situation - (警察は監視している). Strict supervision is required - (厳重な監視が必要だ).

視: "View". The suffix '視(し)' is used to form words that refer to the act of viewing or observing something. It can be attached to nouns to create words related to visual perception, examination, or consideration. For example: 世界観 (せかいかん) - worldview, 科学的視点 (かがくてきしてん) - scientific perspective.

重視: "To emphasize". The verbal noun '重視 (じゅうし)' means 'to emphasize'. It refers to the act of giving great importance or priority to something. This word is commonly used to describe the process of focusing on or highlighting a particular aspect or element. For example: The company重視 customer satisfaction - (会社は顧客満足を重視する). Safety is重視 in this industry - (この業界では安全性が重視される).

視野: "Vision". The Japanese noun '視野 (しや)' means 'vision'. This word refers to the range of what can be seen or the area that is visible from a particular viewpoint. It is often used to describe the scope of one's sight or the extent of one's perspective on a given topic. For example: My vision is limited - (私の視野は限られている). The event was within my vision - (その出来事は私の視野に入っていた).

視聴: "Viewing". The Japanese noun '視聴 (しちょう)' means 'viewing'. This noun refers to the act of watching or observing something, typically through the use of visual media such as television, video, or streaming platforms. It can be used in contexts such as 'TV viewing' - (テレビの視聴), 'video viewing' - (ビデオの視聴), or 'audience viewing' - (視聴者の視聴).

警視: "Police chief". The Japanese noun '警視 (けいし)' refers to a high-ranking police officer or police chief. It is a formal title used to denote the highest-ranking member of the police force. This term is often used in official or legal contexts when referring to the head of a police department or district. For example: The police chief gave a statement - (警視が発表を行なった). He is the police chief of Tokyo - (彼は東京の警視である).

視覚: "Sight". The Japanese noun '視覚 (しかく)' refers to the sense of sight, the ability to perceive visual information. It is one of the five main senses and allows us to see and interpret the world around us. For example: My sense of sight is very good - (私の視覚は非常に良い). Improving one's visual perception - (視覚を改善する)

無視: "Ignore". The verbal noun '無視(むし)' means 'to ignore'. It refers to the act of intentionally disregarding or paying no attention to something or someone. This word is often used when someone decides not to acknowledge or respond to another person or situation. For example: I ignored his request - (私は彼の要求を無視した). We should not ignore the problem - (私たちはこの問題を無視すべきではない).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "し" is read as "shi". And The hiragana "み" is read as "mi".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.